Foie gras: majority of Brits back import ban, study finds

Nearly nine in 10 Brits are in favour of a foie gras import ban, a new YouGov poll commissioned by animal protection organisation Animal Equality UK has found.

The animal rights group said the poll findings added pressure to the Labour government to follow through on its commitment to legislate the issue.

The poll surveyed 2,189 participants and revealed that 85% of individuals (excluding don’t know responses) were in support of the government introducing legislation to ban the import of foie gras made by force-feeding.

An additional 78% showed opposition to the force feeding of animals to produce an item for human consumption.

The production of foie gras on UK soil has been banned for decades on the basis of animal welfare concerns, but the pâté continues to be imported into the UK.

Read more: Lab-grown foie gras application submitted in UK and EU

“Ducks and geese exploited by the foie gras industry suffer the most gruesome of fates,” said Abigail Penny, executive director of Animal Equality UK. “Caged, held down, and violently force-fed until their livers become diseased, these animals suffer agonising physical and psychological pain during their short and miserable lives.

“The UK has already criminalised this practice in the UK, yet has hypocritically paid for and outsourced this cruelty abroad for over a decade,” she added.

The Labour Party confirmed before the election that, if elected, it would ban the importation of foie gras by force-feeding.

Animal advocates have called on the government to “swiftly follow through on this promise”.

“Ducks and geese have suffered at the hands of this wicked industry for far too long already,” said Penny.